Like many of you...I'm busy, I mean like really busy! It sometimes seems as if there are not enough hours in the day. But eating healthy is important to me. I have learned to prepare ahead whenever I possibly can. One of my favorite things to do is throw together a vegetable soup in the crockpot before I leave for work in the morning. Serve it up with a side salad and a loaf of crunchy bread and dinner is served, plus your house will smell amazing when you get home. Basically, all of the ingredients go in at the same time. You can add some finely chopped spinach the last 30 min if you like, but not really necessary... I just like spinach. This makes a good thick soup, a "stick to your ribs" kind of meal. You can chop up fresh veggies in the morning if you have time, or buy the precut veggies or even frozen veggies to save time. You can also put all of this in an electric pressure cooker and only cook for about 10 min... but there's something about coming home after work and smelling dinner ready and waiting that really appeals to me. :) Feel free to substitute with your own favorite vegetables, these are just the ones that I really like.

Ingredients:3 large potatoes peeled and diced into quarter size pieces1 cup carrots diced into dime size pieces1/4 cup finely diced white onion1 stalk finely diced celery2 cups boiling water with 3 veg bullion cubes dissolved in it. ( I put in microwave for 2 min)2-3 T uncooked rice (this is what I use as a thickener, use more or less depending on how thick you like your soup)1 8 or 10 oz can diced tomatoes with liquid1 10 oz can Pinto beans, drained and rinsed (or other bean of your choice)1 cup frozen corn1 cup diced rehydrated Butler Soy Curls (optional, but gives it a good hearty flavor)1t garlic powder1t Italian seasonings&p to taste2 cups chopped fresh spinach (optional, but if you do, stir in last 30 min)

Cook on HIGH for 6-7 hours or on low for 8-10 hours, depending on your schedule and how hot your crockpot gets. One note, it is important to add the boiling hot water, don't put room temp or cold tap water in or it will take so much longer to cook. This makes about 8 servings, approx 320 calories ea.

NOTE; For a very light, low calorie version of this recipe, eliminate the beans, soy curls, and rice and substitute with low starch vegetables like mushrooms, cauliflower, broccoli, and zucchini. Then you would have 8 servings of approx. 100 calories ea.